Social Media For DUI Lawyers

How many people who have been arrested for a drunk driving charge actually go to Facebook and post to the world that they have been arrested for DUI? If you are a DUI attorney, you would probably answer this question with an emphatic “Zero!” What you should understand about Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and all other forms of social media is that it isn’t the audience that is so important, it is the social signal you send to Google. Here we will explain the importance of social media for you.

It’s All Connected Through Social Media

Google has over 200 different signals that they use when trying to determine the importance and relevance of a website. The more “votes” you have for your page, the more important it appears to Google. We use the term “votes”, but we could have easily substituted “social signals” or “links”. When a DUI lawyer posts information on a social media channel, that is a way to tell Google that you are an authority in the specific niche you are posting about. If you post information about breathalyzers, scram bracelets, or drunk driving laws, this is a signal to Google about your online makeup. This is vital when you are trying to increase your organic rankings online.

We talk to all of our attorneys about being connected online. It is not about you posting 10 times a day, instead we focus on what you post, and how that information is shared with other websites online. If you post new information to Facebook, and then that information is shared on Twitter, which in turn gets shared on YouTube, back around to Blogger, and submitted once again to Tumblr, you have connected your online message, and increased the weight of that particular post. Check out this image and see if you can follow along.

In addition to what you have posted, others who find your information are going to “share” with others online, creating a potential online hurricane that can get stronger and stronger as the days go on. Publish something that everyone loves…..the sky is the limit. At Hit Me SEO, we got caught up in with some online social media that got out of control very, very quickly.

The funny thing about it was that we didn’t intend for that information to be shared with anyone else. We simply made a comment to an athlete on Twitter, which he did not like, and then started an avalanche of media coverage that included phone calls from the Producer of the Today Show. We were fielding calls from USA Today, The New York Times, and CBS Sports just to name a few. You can read more about it here.

Imagine the publicity you can receive if what you write about on social media goes viral. Would that change public perception about you? Would you be a “Rainmaker” if you were the one DUI attorney that everyone knew in your geographical market? Yep, and that is one of the reasons to stay on top of social media, but not the only one.

Spamming The Hell Out Of Google

No, we are not recommending that you use spam techniques to rank your websites. Spam is a quick way of getting in trouble with Google, and in the long run, it just doesn’t pay off. Google is going to figure it out, slap you with a penalty, and your site will be in the gutter. So how does social media and spam relate? Spammers don’t want to waste their time setting up Facebook accounts, or creating legitimate Twitter accounts, they just want to rank, make money, and move on to the next product to sell.

Setting up an entire social media ring is time consuming, and takes patience and dedication. No spammer is going to waste his or her precious time doing this, and Google knows this. More weight is given to organic rankings for websites that have “social signals” pointing back to the main website. If you have spent time to create all of these channels, post good relevant content on them, and share your knowledge with the world, Google will recognize this, and reward you with a higher organic ranking.

It is similar to having a mobile website. If you don’t have a mobile friendly website, the search engines are not going to rank you higher for searches on mobile devices. Do the work, whether it is through social media setup, or creating a mobile responsive design, and Google will reward you with higher rankings. No questions asked! Maybe this all sounds good, and it makes sense for you to have your social media campaign set up properly. Great! You have a few options…..

Set it up yourself, and hope that the time spent will pay off.

Hire A High Quality SEO Company to manage it for you.

Spend a few bucks on a low priced SEO and pray it works.

I am sure there are a few options, but these 3 pretty much cover it all. Don’t waste your money working with someone that can optimize your entire site for $299 a month. Would the best DUI attorney (You) in your market charge $299 to handle a case? Then don’t try and get it done the right way by pinching pennies. Your practice is way too valuable, and the return on your investment will be HUGE!

Take a moment and fill out the online discovery form here. We will thoroughly analyze your site, and give you a list of actionable items you can take to increase rankings, but more importantly, increase your new client acquisition. We know DUI, and we know how to get your phone ringing. Give us a quick call and find out why “Our Clients Are Always In The Loop.”